As the president of Unifor local 111, I am proud to add my voice to those from across the country who have come out in support of Lana Payne as National President, Gavin McGarrigle as Western Regional Director and the entire Forward Together team.

My local represents over 4000 Metro Vancouver Transit Operators. We operate a fleet of over 1400 vehicles across the Lower Mainland in British Columbia, including Electric Trolley buses, CNG powered buses, Diesel Hybrid buses, Diesel buses and Community Shuttles.

As transit operators, we live and breathe the community we work in: every day, we see people who rely on public transit to get to where they need to go. Many take transit for work, others take it to go see friends and family. Our members take their jobs seriously and want to make sure people get to their destination safely and in good health.

Our local believes that a strong union is about more than bargaining a contract. It’s about understanding that as workers, we are part of a bigger world that needs constant improvement. The way we work together in a workplace to express demands and make gains in bargaining is the way we should work together with community allies and groups who also believe in social and racial justice and power for all workers. Only then can we hope to live in a world that works for us, not the other way around.

Lana and Gavin are two people with a vision and a plan. I support them because we need a real progressive modern social union that fights for everyone. I look forward to the union we can become with Lana as president. In solidarity!

Balbir Mann, President of Unifor local 111

• messages